The researchers from Harvard and MIT are pointing out towards the health consequences stemming from Volkswagen’s emissions tricks. Volkswagen continues to be in the spotlights and this time the implications suggested are worrisome. According to an alarming new study, the limit-breaching emissions found in VW’s diesel cars will be culpable for 59 premature deaths only in the US alone, on average for more than 10 years before their time. The study was made by researchers from the MIT and Harvard universities and published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. It would be possible to save up to 130 lives if those polluting cars are entirely recalled by the end of 2016. “It’s far from clear how many people will actually turn in their cars. That’s a key challenge”, said Steven Barrett, professor at MIT and lead author of the study. The researchers calculated the excess of nitrogen oxide emissions released into the air and modelled on a higher scale, all over the US, using existing data on population density, traffic, health risks and weather patterns. There are about 482,000 VW diesel cars in the US who passed the emissions test helped by illegal software. The company committed to satisfy the US standards and find a proper solution, but nothing clear has been said so far as spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan commented: “We have no details on the timing or the details of what the remedies will be”. On the global scale, there are 11 million cars affected, with the most of them in Europe. So, here as well the health implications of VW’s actions are alarming. General Motors is also in the spotlight with the ignition-switch scandal, the defect being linked to the death of at least 124 people. Via Bloomberg